Hey guys, so below is a brief review of my experience on Cathay 889 from JFK to YVR
I'm not a frequent traveler, and my only other experience in F was my HND to SFO flight in JAL F which I posted a while back. So that's my only reference point for this review.
I got to the airport a 7:30pm for my 9:10pm, there was nobody at the F check in counter so I checked in quickly and went through the dedicated security section for F and J passengers, which also had no lines.
After a long day of walking around NYC (and not really sleeping the night before as I had an 6am flight out of ORD to JFK and my parents lived 90min away from ORD) the first thing I did was take a shower at the BA Lounge. There was also a spa in the lounge, but the services are restricted to BA F passenger only, and Cathay F was not eligible. Really sucked because a 30min foot massage sounded so amazing at the time.
At this point i was still full from my 2.5 hour lunch at Jean Georges, so I just walked around the lounge, took a few pictures and didnt really eat or drink anything. The lounge was spacious, and seemed to have a good food menu. Didn't quite stack up to the Sakura F lounge in HND, but I was told to never compare NA lounges to Asia lounges.
Soon it was boarding time, I actually didn't make it to my gate until around 8:40 so I wasn't the first to board, so I'm not sure if F pax got to board first, or if F/J boarded together.
I got half way down the jet bridge then I had to wait in the middle for my duty free purchase which took 5 min as they forgot my bag at the duty free store.
When I got down to the plane, I was greeted immediately by name by the head flight attendant. (i'm guessing they must've radio'd down my description when I was walking down, because they greeted me before even seeing my boarding pass). After taking a glance at my boarding stub just to make sure I am who they think I am, I was escorted to the F cabin by Christine (1 of the 3 flight attendants that was taking care of the F cabin that day). I was told by Christine that I was the only passenger flying F that day and I could pick what ever seat I wanted, so I settled in 2A while storing some of my luggage in 1A.
The lack of overhead compartments made the cabin feel much more spacious than the Jal Cabin, and if I recall correctly the JAL configuration was 1-2-1, while the Cathay configuration was 1-1-1 in the same Boeing 777 plane. (unless the JAL plane was wider? I'm not really an airplane guy)
After getting settled, I was given a hot towel and then offered a pre flight drink, which I asked for a glass of Champagne in hopes of getting Krug, but instead was given Deutz
Then the other flight attendant (I forgot her name) brought me my amenity kit and PJs.
As you can see the suite are quite large as I cannot even touch the foot rest with the seat being in its full upright position. Same was true for the JAL F Suite.
Then I was given the dinner menu to review prior to departure
I ended up ordering the Chinese course main, which was Curry beef brisket on rice.
Finally we started to push back
As soon as we leveled off, I was given some nuts and another glass of champagne
I started playing with my seat to find a comfortable seating position
Then it was finally food time, the appie was a smoked salmon dish that I thought was only okay....not my favorite (but than again at this point I was really tired and I also just had a 2.5 hour 3 michelin star meal earlier in the day)
The main course though was just plain bad, the beef was mostly fat, so I ended up just scarfing down the rice with some of the sauce.
Dessert was a cheese cake, nothing spectacular
Some Petit fours
Shortly after the meal, I got up to go change into my PJs, and I asked my flight attendant team (3 of the, 1 being the head attendant) to make my bed.
I was kind of hoping they would just make another suite into the bed for me so I can just shuffle into 1A to sleep or something but that was not offered to me and I didn't bother asking
Managed to get about 3.5 hours of sleep on the flight, the bed wasn't as comfortable as JAL as the bed was a mummy shape rather than the full rectangle like the JAL first class cabin. The mattress pad was not as thick either. Jal also gave me the option of a hard or soft mattress. But overall the service was top notch. Since I was the only one in the F cabin the entire cabin lighting was turned dark as soon as I told my team I was going to sleep. At one point I got up to on the the bathroom and the flight attendants must've noticed that I drooled on my pillow (yes I drool when I sleep...deal with it) and she right away replaced the pillows and gave me two new ones.
Soon I heard the captain announce that we were approx 40min or so from Vancouver, so I got up to change out of my PJs, as soon as I got back there was a fresh orchid waiting for me in my suite (they took it away before take off and never put it back until I woke up)
And some hot towel and orange juice, I did ask for ice cream but was told there wasn't any on this flight, which was a bit of a disappointment.
Overall it was a great flight, it only costed me 50K avios points, which I transferred MR points over at the 25% bonus promotion, so it only costed me 40K MR points for this flight.
I would rate the hard product 7/10, the lack of over head compartment made cabin feel super spacious which was a plus, but the lack of a thick mattress pad and the mummy style bed is where it fell a little short.
food 3/10, this is an area that I was really disappointed in, the fatty beef, no ice cream both were things that I would not expect in a F cabin.
service 9.5/10
I would give 10/10, but I guess perfection is unobtainable and also I havent experience Singapore airline yet which I've heard is the true "perfection" in terms of service.
But all the small details Cathay nailed, in terms of greeting me by name upon entering the plane.
Having 3 FAs checking up to make sure I am okay
Changing my pillows when I got up to go pee
ensuring I always had water while I sleep (as I have a habit of drinking water intermittently during my sleep)
There really isnt much more I can ask of the service
The crew was vancouver based, and there was actually a crew change at YVR during the stop over.
All in all it was a great flight, and I look forward to flying CX on a Tpac flight next time, and hope to one day try Singapore airline's F product as well.
You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community today!
The banners on the left side and below do not show for registered users!
You don't happen to fly today are you? 
